R.I.P. John Coleman, S.J., distinguished sociologist (and parish priest)

Regular readers of America will surely recognize the name John A. Coleman, S.J. One of the nation’s most distinguished sociologists for many years and an expert on the relationship between religion and public life, he was also a longtime and prolific contributor to the magazine. Father Coleman died on Jan. 17, 2025 in Los Gatos, Calif., at the age of 87.

A professor for 23 years at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley (1974-1997) and for a dozen more at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Father Coleman also held visiting professorships at other universities in the United States, Australia, Taiwan and Belgium. His Jesuit obituary noted that he had visited more than 40 countries over the course of his life.

Father Coleman was born in San Francisco in 1937 and attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory there. “When I was 17 years old, I decided simultaneously that I wanted to be two things,” he said in a 2020 interview. “I wanted to be a sociologist…and I wanted to be a Jesuit. And I became both.” He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Los Gatos, Calif., in 1954, and was ordained a priest in 1967.

After his ordination, he pursued a doctorate in sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied under legendary sociologist Robert Bellah. The two collaborated on many projects in the following years at the Graduate Theological Union and elsewhere. “For many years, Bob and I team-taught a course on social ethics and society, starting with Plato and Aristotle and going down through Aquinas,” Coleman wrote in America in 2013.

“I can’t remember how many doctoral comprehensive or dissertation defenses we both served together on. He always stunned me by his wide grasp of both philosophy and theology. Someone who was so widely esteemed by the likes of Jurgen Habermas, Charles Taylor and Hans Joas had to represent an exceptionally fine mind. Bob was also a very generous spirit who did not hesitate to learn from the marginal or forgotten ones of history.”

Coleman himself would serve as a mentor to another generation of sociologists—I had a professor of sociology in graduate school in Berkeley who spoke of him in almost reverential tones—and also be recognized as a leading authority on civil religion in the United States. (Those interested in listening to a podcast interview of Father Coleman by America deputy editor in chief Tim Reidy can click here.) He was also the author or editor of 18 books, including An American Strategic Theology, Christian Political Ethics and One Hundred Years of Catholic Social Teaching, Globalization and Catholic Social Thought, and hundreds of scholarly articles and book chapters.

Father Coleman retired from university teaching (well, sort of) in 2009 and moved back to his native San Francisco to become an associate pastor at St. Ignatius Church, a Jesuit parish adjacent to the University of San Francisco. His intellectual output continued after he moved to St. Ignatius, where he worked in adult faith formation for many years at the parish, and also offered regular workshops and discussions on theology and culture. I taught briefly at the University of San Francisco at this time and can still remember his imposing silhouette and omnipresent cigarette in the shadows next to the church before and after his evening meetings.

In 13 years as an associate pastor, Coleman also wrote regular reflections on everything from spirituality to Scripture to the best way to survive Covid-19. He also continued to write for America, where his first article had appeared in 1970 (a reflection on the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American protestors). His last—more than 150 articles later—was fittingly a book review in 2017; anyone who knew Father Coleman knew he was a voracious and attentive reader. His contributions ranged from essays on religious liberty, public policy and the particulars of American religious expression to appreciations of local theater productions to erudite and often pointed reflections on U.S. politics.

In 2020, Father Coleman was honored by the San Francisco chapter of the Thomas More Society of Catholic lawyers. In accepting the award, said that he had always admired Thomas More deeply. Next to his bed, he said, was a prayer of More’s which he said every morning when he woke up.

Grant me, O Lord, good digestion and something to digest. Grant me a healthy body and the necessary good humor to maintain it. Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sign of evil but rather finds the means to put things back in place. Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments nor excess of stress because of that obstructing thing called “I”! Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor, allow me the grace to be able to take a joke, to discover in life a bit of joy and to be able to share it with others.

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Our poetry selection for this week is “Juniper Rising,” by Richard Schiffman. Readers can view all of America’s published poems here.

Members of the Catholic Book Club: We are taking a hiatus while we retool the Catholic Book Club and pick a new selection.

In this space every week, America features reviews of and literary commentary on one particular writer or group of writers (both new and old; our archives span more than a century), as well as poetry and other offerings from America Media. We hope this will give us a chance to provide you with more in-depth coverage of our literary offerings. It also allows us to alert digital subscribers to some of our online content that doesn’t make it into our newsletters.

Other Catholic Book Club columns:

The spiritual depths of Toni Morrison

Doris Grumbach, L.G.B.T. pioneer and fearless literary critic

What’s all the fuss about Teilhard de Chardin?

Moira Walsh and the art of a brutal movie review

Father Hootie McCown: Flannery O’Connor’s Jesuit bestie and spiritual advisor

Happy reading!

James T. Keane